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Vote for change. Vote Conservative CHARLIE WHELAN'S NEW MILITANT TENDENCY INTRODUCTION FROM CONSERVATIVE PARTY CHAIRMAN, ERIC PICKLES

‘ is the political arm of none other than the as a whole’ – , Labour Party Manifesto, 1997

‘It is absolutely fair to describe the Labour Party as the political wing of Unite. It influences Labour more than any other organisation and it is really hard to underestimate the extent to which Unite runs the operations of the party’ – Peter Watt, Labour's former General Secretary, 2010

This document shines a light on the great untold story of British politics: how Unite, Britain’s biggest trade union, has taken advantage of Labour’s near bankruptcy and the departure of Tony Blair to gain an unprecedented grip on the party.

Under the political direction of Charlie Whelan, Unite is using its financial and organisation muscle to drive government policy and build a Labour Party very different to the one that appealed to Middle and won three general elections. Instead, with as leader, there has been a reversal of much-needed public service reforms, a return to industrial militancy and a regression into atavistic class war rhetoric.

Charlie Whelan’s New Militant Tendency sets out in detail the way in which, in the three years since Gordon Brown became Prime Minister, Unite has spent more than £11 million of its members’ money on buying influence within the Labour Party. This extends from placing a key union operative inside 10 Downing Street to taking effective control of many cash-strapped constituency Labour parties and installing Unite activists and officials as prospective Parliamentary candidates.

Since Unite was formed as a super-union as a result of the merger between the TGWU and Amicus, the union has become dominant. A quarter of the Labour Party’s income now comes from Unite and many MPs and PPCs rely on the union for funding, including Gordon Brown and twelve other Cabinet ministers. In 2008, a cash-strapped Labour Party was able to get its accounts signed off only after obtaining a written guarantee of future funding from Unite.

Under Tony Blair, the Labour leadership mostly kept the unions at bay, often facing down demands for left-wing policies that would have stifled enterprise and prevented reform. Now, Unite and the other big trade unions are calling the tune and the effects are clear: part-privatisation of the Royal Mail has been abandoned; the flagship Academies programme has been sidelined; and new burdens on business such as the Agency Workers Directive have been imposed.

Strikes and other forms of industrial action are on the increase yet senior Cabinet ministers seem reluctant to act. Unite is preparing to cripple British Airways, but it took several days for any minister to speak out. It was only after Lord Adonis, one of the few remaining Blairites in government, condemned Unite that other ministers, including Gordon Brown, made criticisms of the proposed strike. The fact remains that Labour is still propped up by the strikers’ money.

Charlie Whelan’s New Militant Tendency reveals a worrying situation within the Labour Party and all the indications are that it will get worse. The new intake of Labour MPs, shaped by the unions in their own image, will be more militant, more left-wing and more reliant on union money than their predecessors. Out will go and Alan Millburn: in will come Jack Dromey and . There will be no appetite for policies to encourage enterprise and drive forward reform.

The facts about Unite’s increasing domination should be in the public domain. The British people are entitled to know what kind of government they will get if they vote Labour.

page 1 SUMMARY

New analysis reveals for the first time the full extent of the control that Charlie Whelan’s Unite is exercising over Gordon Brown and the Labour Party.

Buying up Labour’s MPs and PPCs

• 148 seats that Labour is contesting at the next election are directly funded by Unite • 167 Labour MPs and PPCs are members of the union • Half of all elected Cabinet Ministers, including Gordon Brown and , have their seats funded by Unite

Bankrolling Labour’s Campaign

• Under Gordon Brown 25 per cent of Labour’s funding, or £11 million, has come from Unite • Unite saved the Labour Party from bankruptcy in 2008

Fighting Labour’s Campaign on the Ground

The union is now running large parts of Labour’s campaign on the ground, including:

• Sending out direct mail • Setting up phone banks • Targeting 100,000 voters in 90 marginal constituencies • Running attack websites • Providing thousands in staff help • Holding events for Labour MPs • Co-ordinating a postal votes campaign

Co-ordinating Labour’s Campaign

Charlie Whelan is now back at the heart of Gordon Brown’s Downing Street playing a central role in Labour’s election campaign. His support for Gordon Brown includes:

• Unleashing the ‘forces of hell’ on the Chancellor in the middle of the recession • Putting Unite ‘on an election footing’ • Stopping MPs joining the Hoon-Hewitt attack on Brown • Regularly attending meetings in Downing Street, Parliament and Labour HQ

And pushing an anti-reform agenda

Unite is using this renewed influence to drive policy to the left including promoting anti-enterprise measures and blocking vital public service reforms:

• Opposed to welfare reform • Opposed to flexibility in the labour market • Opposed to social enterprises operating within the NHS • Opposed to voluntary sector involvement in the NHS • Opposed to co-operatives • Opposed to the part-privatisation of Royal Mail

page 2 Charlie Whelan’s New Militant Tendency UNITE CONTROLLING THE LABOUR PARTY

Unite buying up Labour PPCs and MPs

148 seats that Labour are contesting have received cash from Charlie Whelan’s Unite. Since Q3 2005, Unite has donated to 148 CLPs (one fifth of all seats contested at the next general election). Donations totalled £460,561.81.

58 seats with PPCs seeking to enter Parliament in 2010 receive funding from Unite. Since Q3 2005, Unite has donated to 58 seats with PPCs seeking to enter Parliament in 2010 with contributions worth £156,643.56.

90 seats with incumbent MPs receive cash from Unite. Since Q3 2005, 90 CLPs with incumbent MPs seeking re- election were given £303,918.25 by Unite.

Unite has funded 13 elected Cabinet Ministers, including Gordon Brown and Ed Balls. Since Q3 2005, Unite has donated £33,042.38 to the Cabinet, including £1,000 to Gordon Brown and £5,395 to Ed Balls. Mr Balls received the second highest amount from Unite.

Ranking Constituency Cabinet Member Donation 1 South £6,560 2 Morley and Outwood Ed Balls £5,395 3 Coventry North East £4,500 4 Leeds Central £4,500 5 Paisley and South £4,000 6 Bristol South £1,500 7 Hull West and Hessle £1,310 8 Doncaster North £1,000 9 Kirkaldy and Cowdenbeath Gordon Brown £1,000 10 Normanton Pontefract and Castleford £1,000 11 St Helens South and Whiston £1,000 12 Wentworth and Dearne £1,000 13 Southampton Itchen £277.38 TOTAL DONATED BY UNITE £33,042.38

For full details, see Appendix A

page 3 Funding and Fighting Labour’s election campaign

• Since Gordon Brown became Prime Minister, Unite have given Labour £11,060,378.83 or 24.59 per cent of Labour’s total funding.

• Guarantees ensured Labour escape bankruptcy. ‘In 2008, the Labour Party was only able to get its accounts signed off and avert financial collapse after obtaining a written guarantee from at least one union – Unite – that it will continue to provide significant funding in the future’ (The Times, 29 June 2008).

Unite are now running large parts of Labour’s campaign:

• Sending out direct mail. Unite are using their contacts database to send emails and letters making the case for Labour. An example is a recent email sent by the joint General-Secretaries of Unite:

‘Unite members have told us that job security and the economy are some of the most important issues to them. There is good news then. Unemployment is down. The economy has started to recover. Gordon Brown has listened to what you and thousands of Unite members have said. He has focused on the economy and performed strongly’ (Email from Derek Simpson and Tony Woodley, 23 February 2010).

• Unite setting up a virtual phone bank to help Labour. In recent weeks, Unite have stepped up the operations of their online virtual phone bank which allows Unite members to contact their fellow members to ‘urge them to vote Labour when the election comes’ (Hannah Blythyn, Unite Political Officer, ProgressOnline, 24 February 2010; http://www.progressives.org.uk/articles/article.asp?a=5420).

• Targeting 100,000 voters in 90 marginal constituencies. Unite aim to contact 100,000 of their members in 90 marginal constituencies in the hope of winning support for Labour. Charlie Whelan has said: ‘In 90 key seats the Unite membership is larger than the current Labour majority. If almost every Unite member voted Labour, we would win the election. If the union delivers votes it has a lot more influence than if it simply delivers cash’ (, 13 March 2010).

• Launching attacks by Unite4Labour. Unite’s ‘Unite4Labour’ website has been used to launch aggressive attacks on the Conservatives, which the Labour Party would not be able to mount. For example, Charlie Whelan attacks the alleged effects of Conservative cuts without revealing that Labour are planning spending cuts:

‘I’d urge all Unite members to visit Unite4Labour, register for the member only section and talk to your colleagues about the threat to jobs, skills, schools, hospitals and local services that the Tory spending cuts will mean’ (http://www.unite4labour.org/about).

• Providing thousands of pounds worth of staff help. Since 2008, Unite have donated over £150,000 in staff time to the Labour Party.

• Holding events for Labour MPs. Unite had planned to hold an event in Parliament, in order to ‘get things moving on the campaign…other members will be there from Unite and the unions we are campaigning with.’ (Guido Fawkes Blog, 24 February 2010; http://order-order.com/2010/02/24/unite-rapped-for-parliamentary-event/) Following an official complaint, the event was cancelled.

• Unite ‘is on an election footing’. In an email to senior Unite officials, Charlie Whelan wrote that ‘with less than 100 days to the General Election the union is on an election footing’ (Email from Charlie Whelan to Unite national officers and regional secretaries, 1 February 2010).

• Unite have been intensively targeting marginal seats for the last year. Similarly, Charlie Whelan revealed in this email that Unite had been targeting voters in marginals for the last year: ‘We’ve been in touch for the last year or so with Unite members in the key parliamentary marginals. We’ve asked them their voting intentions and what issues matter to them. That has led to a dialogue to firm up Labour support. We’ve also created the elections website www.unite4labour.org which is designed for Unite members as a source of information as well as a means by which Unite members can talk to other Unite members to ascertain then bolster support for Labour’ (Email from Charlie Whelan to Unite national officers and regional secretaries, 1 February 2010).

page 4 Charlie Whelan’s New Militant Tendency • Unite pressuring its members to make 10 phone calls a week in support of Labour. In a section of the email from Whelan to senior union officials called ‘where you can help’, Unite’s Political Director writes: ` ‘Specifically, we would urge you to get them and their colleagues in their workplaces to register for Unite4Labour and commit to making 10 calls a week to Unite members over the next few weeks and support the regional days of action we are planning’ (Email from Charlie Whelan to Unite national officers and regional secretaries, 1 February 2010).

• Unite urging members to register for a postal vote. ‘With many of our members working shifts we’re also asking you to make sure as many of our members register for a postal vote if they haven’t already done so. They can do this via the Unite4Labour site by clicking on “Register for a Postal Vote” in the top right hand side of the home page’ (Email from Charlie Whelan to Unite national officers and regional secretaries, 1 February 2010).

• Whelan tells Unite members that Labour would keep the doors of Government open for trade unions. Whelan implies to their members that a Labour Government would keep open the doors of Government for trade unions: ‘A Tory government would close doors to trade unions and be a disaster for our members and the labour movement’ (Email from Charlie Whelan to Unite national officers and regional secretaries, 1 February 2010).

• Unite4Labour pushing Labour membership forms. Unite4Labour feature a leaflet on their website which contains ‘ten reasons to support Labour’, packaged up with a Labour Party membership form. A statement from the union’s joint General-Secretaries pushes Labour membership:

‘Of course, we want Labour to go further. You can help argue for that by joining the Labour Party for just £19.50 a year – that’s less than £2 a month. We want Labour to win. We want Unite members’ voices heard.

‘You can help shape Labour’s policies for the next manifesto, sharing your and your family’s ideas, hopes and concerns by becoming a party member. Labour Party policy is made by ordinary members. Labour Party members also have a direct say in the selection of their local Labour MP and councillors. You could choose to stand as a Labour Party Candidate yourself’ (Ten Reasons to Support Labour; http://www.unite4labour.org/uploads/acd48984-6ba2-ac84-693b-1b1e4e0bd9d7.pdf).

• Unite4Labour Twitter feed relaying reports of Unite campaigning activity. ‘Amazing response from Unite members - thousands of calls being made throughout country - get calling www.unite4labour.org’ (Unite4Labour Twitter).

• Unite running phone banks. A letter from Unite’s and Eastern Regional Secretary discloses that the union is running a number of phone banks to canvass for Labour support in London and the East of England (Letter from Steve Hart to Unite Regional Committees, Regional Political Committees, CLP delegates, and branches and reps, February 2010).

page 5 Charlie Whelan: Back at the heart of Labour’s Campaign

• Whelan working on the General Election campaign. A report in The Sunday Times said: ‘it is understood that Whelan, famed for his colourful language, is to be given a leading role at Labour HQ during the election campaign’ (Sunday Times, 7 March 2010). When said he was happy that Whelan was involved in the campaign, Whelan tweeted ‘me too!’ (Charlie Whelan's twitter).

• Darling implies that Charlie Whelan is back working for Brown. When it was put to Alistair Darling in an interview that ‘Damian McBride, Charlie Whelan... had a right pop at you behind your back in the press’, the Chancellor responded by saying: ‘Of course there were people saying things but frankly my best answer for them is the fact that I’m still here, one of them is not’. This response implies that Whelan is back working for Brown as Damian McBride left Brown’s office last year after he planned smears against senior Conservatives (Jeff Randall Live, Sky News, 23 February 2010).

• Relaying Gordon Brown’s messages on Twitter. ‘Key word from Gordon Brown today was 'substance.' Wonder who hasn't any? Former PR man Cameron?’ (3 February 2010, http://twitter.com/charliewhelan/status/8585334915)

• Using Twitter account to mirror the Labour Party line. ‘RT @Unite4Labour: Good news today as the UK is heading out of recession thanks to the positive actions taken by Labour.’ (26 January 2010, http://twitter.com/charliewhelan/status/8235888149); ‘RT @DodgerZulu: More good news as Labour pays out £3.5bn to workers who lost their pensions.’ (21 January 2010, http://twitter.com/charliewhelan/status/8026550410)’; ‘RT @MirrorJames: ordered to pay back £1,666 of taxpayers cash after breaking Commons rules on mortgage claims’ (21 January 2010, http://twitter.com/charliewhelan/status/8023581444).

• Recognised by police at Downing Street. In January, Whelan revealed that even the police outside of Downing Street recognised him, tweeting that he ‘‘[b]umped into Alistair Darling in Downing St. Said he didn’t recognise me in my tweed hat. Fortunately sharp eyed No10 police did so let me in!’ (Charlie Whelan Twitter, 19 January 2010; http://twitter.com/charliewhelan/status/7939265011)’.

• Charlie Whelan and other Brown aides bad-mouthed Alistair Darling in front of Brown and civil servants. ‘Brown appealed for help from and Philip Gould...They joined the political strategy meetings inside Number 10, which were also attended by Ed Balls, Charlie Whelan and some Downing Street officials. Much of the time at these meetings was wasted looking for scapegoats. Whelan routinely mouthed profanities about Alistair Darling. Brown did not intervene to stop him, even though civil servants were witnesses to the cursing and bad- mouthing of the Chancellor. “It was all “Darling is such a useless w**ker” from Charlie and not just Charlie,” says one appalled witness. “It was shocking to hear, especially when officials were present.”’ (The End of the Party, Andrew Rawnsley, 2010 p.615).

• Charlie Whelan and Unite stopped Labour MPs calling for a leadership contest to topple Brown. Labour MPs who thought about supporting the Hoon-Hewitt plot last month were ordered not to by Whelan: ‘Those who wavered were told to stay in line by Brown’s old crony Charlie Whelan and his colleagues at Unite, Labour’s all-powerful trade union paymaster’ (The Daily Telegraph, 7 January 2010).

• Pictures reveal recent attendance at the Houses of Parliament. Two ‘tweetPhotos’ recently posted by Whelan show how he has been visiting Parliament:

Above left: (Posted on 25 February 2010, http://tweetphoto.com/12456507) Above right: (Posted on 6 January 2010, http://tweetphoto.com/8146158) page 6 Charlie Whelan’s New Militant Tendency Charlie Whelan’s Bully Boy Background

• ‘Fixer’ for Communist trade union leader throughout the Eighties. ‘After reading politics at City of London Polytechnic, he [Whelan] tried his hand as a foreign exchange dealer for six months, joined the Communist Party and finally found his niche as a researcher in the engineering union, the AEEU. The late Jimmy Airlie became his mentor and Whelan was his fixer and mouthpiece throughout the turbulent Eighties.’ ( on Sunday, 26 October 1997).

• Uncompromising loyalty to union boss. ‘He [Whelan] showed the same uncompromising allegiance to his former boss and mentor, Jimmy Airlie of the AEEU, the Communist shop-steward.’ (The Guardian, 5 January 1999).

• Whelan’s union held strike that crippled Ford – which Whelan later boasted about. ‘Ford had a great deal more to complain of in 1985 when Airlie led a successful two-week strike of Ford UK which crippled the company's European operations. Ford capitulated’ (The Times, 11 March 1997). Whelan later boasted: ‘We brought Ford to a standstill across the whole of Europe’. (Charlie Whelan, Scotland on Sunday, 4 April 1999).

• Leaked documents from leading companies. ‘he [was] the energetic supplier of leaked documents from Ford and other companies’. (New Statesman, 8 January 1999).

• Wrote article personally attacking Tony Blair over Fire Brigades Union strike. In the article in the Daily Mirror, Whelan made a pointed contrast between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s attitudes to trade unions: ‘Unlike Blair, the Chancellor doesn’t hate unions. He should tell the PM to back off before it's too late.’ (Daily Mirror, 19 November 2002).

• Copied in to 10 Downing Street ‘smeargate’ emails. Last year, Whelan was implicated in the scandal that led to the resignation of Damian McBride, Gordon Brown’s top doctor. It was revealed that he was copied in to emails sent by McBride about plans to smear Conservative politicians (The Observer, 12 April 2009).

• Spinning for Brown’s political purposes. In order to demonstrate Whelan’s power and use in government to a sceptical Tony Blair before the 1997 General Election, Gordon Brown allegedly told Whelan to brief to the media that he would create a minister for employment with cabinet rank if elected: ‘Brown was gleeful when this was reported on every front page. He knew it was untrue, but a purpose had been served.’ (Gordon Brown, Tom Bower, 2004, page 196).

• Set the bar for brutality. ‘Charlie Whelan, Brown’s first spin doctor, was forced to resign in the first term when he and his ad hominem methods became over-exposed. He was still a presence in the background and an influence. “Charlie set the bar. You prove your loyalty by your brutality. There’s a part of Gordon that likes that”’ (The End of the Party, Andrew Rawnsley, 2010 p.73).

• Briefed against the Prime Minister. ‘Clive Soley, the chairman of the parliamentary Labour Party, noticed that Whelan had become more important than ever as a means to promote Brown’s opinions against the Blairites. “I’ve heard Whelan briefing John Humphrys against the Prime Minister, Alastair Campbell and .”’ (Gordon Brown, Tom Bower, 2004, page 284).

• Briefed against other Ministers. ‘He [Brown] would not admit that, with his agreement, Whelan regularly briefed journalists to embarrass Robin Cook, Chris Smith, George Robertson and .’ (Gordon Brown, Tom Bower, 2004, page 284).

• Briefed against Peter Mandelson. During the 1997 General Election, tensions between Gordon Brown and Peter Mandelson led Whelan to brief against Mandelson, who he nicknamed ‘Trousers’: ‘”Trousers,” he [Whelan] scoffed, “thinks that Millbank is his exclusive area. That’s wrong.”’ (Gordon Brown, Tom Bower, 2004, page 194- 95).

• Toasted Mandelson’s resignation over home loan with champagne. ‘For a week Blair and Mandelson attempted to ride out the storm, but to Brown’s satisfaction, on 23 December Mandelson resigned. At the Red Lion, Whelan ordered champagne to toast his enemy’s destruction.’ (Gordon Brown, Tom Bower, 2004, page 291).

• ‘Unsuited to teamwork and consolidation’. ‘Whelan was temperamentally unsuited to teamwork and consolidation. He enjoyed breaking the crockery too much.’ (Gordon Brown, Tom Bower, 2004, page 196).

page 7 • Adopted Gordon Brown’s grudges. ‘Empowered by Brown’s sponsorship, [Geoffrey] Robinson, [Ed] Balls and Whelan adopted his grudges, dividing the world into friends and enemies, focusing especially on their personal and ideological dislike of Blair.’ (Gordon Brown, Tom Bower, 2004, page 220).

• ‘Economical with the truth’. He is alleged to have told journalists about his spin tactics: ‘You just have to be economical with the truth…Gordon then looks good. You have to say things. You should never lie, but it’s very difficult. They [journalists] understand.’ (Gordon Brown, Tom Bower, 2004, page 220).

• ‘An aggressive hooligan’. Jill Rutter, former Head of Communications at the Treasury said of Whelan: ‘“At first I thought Whelan was good for Brown…but he’s really an aggressive hooligan.”’ (Gordon Brown, Tom Bower, 2004, page 227).

• ‘A killing machine’ disparaging opponents. ‘Standing at the press gallery bar in the Commons, Whelan would chortle, “I’ve got a great news story,” then proceed to promote Brown and disparage others in the coarsest terms. Described as “a killing machine” and “a serial killer”, he would shamelessly admit to rubbishing ministers, but “only if it was absolutely necessary”, and approved by Brown.’ (Gordon Brown, Tom Bower, 2004, page 175).

page 8 Charlie Whelan’s New Militant Tendency Unite: Pushing an Anti-Reform Agenda

• Opposed to welfare reform. Unite joined forces with other unions to oppose welfare reform plans: ‘The government’s proposals remove entitlements and fail to value the important work of parents and carers...

‘... Unite is opposed to the abolition of Income Support which ends the principle that those in need deserve help. We are opposed to compulsory work for benefits. People should be paid the rate for the job or at the very least be paid the national minimum wage’ (Unite website; http://www.unitetheunion.com/campaigns/welfare_reform.aspx).

• Opposed to flexibility in the labour market. As part of the union’s ‘Unite for Jobs’ campaign, it proposed ‘an immediate overhaul of our redundancy law to end the shame of our workers being among the cheapest and easiest to sack in the western economies.’ (Unite for Jobs Website; http://www.unitetheunion.com/campaigns/ unite_for_jobs.aspx).

• Opposed to social enterprises operating within the NHS. Unite succeeded in its campaign to stop NHS Tower Hamlets using a social enterprise to provide services – an example of the union’s opposition to them operating in the NHS: ‘Plans by NHS Tower Hamlets to hive off NHS services into a social enterprise have been withdrawn, following large-scale staff protests.

‘Unite, the largest union in the country, hailed the move as “a victory for common sense” and a tribute to the united stand taken by the employees. The union now wants to work constructively with the trust’s management to strengthen NHS services in one of the most deprived areas in the country.’ (Unite Press Release, 25 February 2010; http://www.unitetheunion.com/news__events/latest_news/staff_%E2%80%98victory%E2%80%99 _as_tower_hamle.aspx).

• Opposed to co-operatives. ‘Proposals by the Tory leader for public sector workers to have the opportunity to form co-operatives to run services were described as “a return to the ad-hoc, unfettered world of laissez-faire”.

‘Staff of taxpayer-funded services, such as primary school teachers and nurses, would decide how they were run - within certain national standards.

‘Gail Cartmail, Unite Assistant General Secretary for the Public Sector said: “ is using the language of socialism to mask a break-up of public services. He is mangling the English language to advance his anti-state ideology”’ (Unite Press Release, 15 February 2010; http://www.unitetheunion.com/news__events/latest_news/ david_cameron_%E2%80%98mangles_english.aspx).

• Opposed to voluntary sector involvement in the NHS. ‘Voluntary sector organisations are being used as the ‘Trojan Horse’ to break up the NHS, Unite, the largest union in the country, has said.

‘The union cites the case of Hinchingbrooke Hospital, near Huntingdon as being “a guinea pig” as it is currently seeking “the first franchise offer of its kind to find a partner to provide the full range of clinical and non-clinical services”’ (Unite Press Release, 9 November 2009; http://www.unitetheunion.org/news__events/ latest_news/charities_are_being_used_as_%E2%80%98t.aspx).

• Opposed to the part-privatisation of Royal Mail. Unite joint General Secretaries Derek Simpson and Tony Woodley co- wrote a letter to The Guardian with other union leaders demanding that Royal Mail remains ‘wholly publicly owned’:

‘At Warwick University, in the summer of 2008, the affiliated trade unions collectively participated in a series of policy discussions with representatives of the Labour party and Downing Street. The purpose and outcome of those discussions was to reach a policy agreement that was satisfactory to all participants.

‘Within that Warwick agreement was a clear commitment to maintaining Royal Mail in the public sector: “We have set out a vision of a wholly publicly owned, integrated Royal Mail group in good health providing customers with an excellent service and its employees with rewarding employment.”

‘This commitment was agreed by all affiliated trade unions in the belief that it guaranteed the future of Royal Mail as “wholly publicly owned”. This was our belief in the summer, and it was the belief of the 2008 Labour party conference, which voted to support this policy.’

(Unison Press Release, 27 February 2009; http://www.unison.org.uk/positivelypublic/news_view.asp?did=5185)

page 9 Blairites Attack Labour’s Links with Unite

Peter Watt, Labour's former General Secretary: ‘It is absolutely fair to describe the Labour Party as the political wing of Unite. It influences Labour more than any other organisation and it is really hard to underestimate the extent to which Unite runs the operations of the party. Looking at the [donation] numbers is barking up the wrong tree. The real issue is that they are ferociously well organised and at every level of the party they exert influence on [candidate] selections and on policy. The other unions are massively wary of Unite and its power and are completely obsessed by the extent to which Unite is able to bully other unions’ (Telegraph, 13 March 2010; http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews /7437270/Labours-union-paymasters-threaten-return-to-bad-old-days.html)

Mandelson ally Colin Byrne attacks ‘nutter’ Charlie Whelan. The European CEO of Weber Shandwick and former Labour Party chief press officer with strong links to Peter Mandelson, condemned Whelan’s Downing Street influence on Twitter: ‘What the hell is a strike mongering politically discredited nutter like Charlie Whelan doing at the heart of Labour's election campaign?’ (PR Week, 15 March 2010; http://www.prweek.com/news/bulletin/UKDaily/article /990147/?DCMP=EMC-UKDaily).

Digby Jones, Former Labour Minister and Director General of the CBI.

Andrew Neil: ‘Are you worried about Unite’s influence over the Labour Party?’ Digby Jones: ‘Yes’ (Daily Politics, 15 March 2010)

Former Labour minister. ‘Under Tony, we were criticised for being control freaks, but in fact that meant we could prevent the party slipping back into its bad old ways...Gordon has quietly lost control of the party’ (Sunday Times, 14 March 2010).

page 10 Charlie Whelan’s New Militant Tendency Unite’s record of militancy

Unite behind the current British Airways cabin crew strikes

• Seven day cabin crew strike with extension threatened. In January, Unite, representing British Airways (BA) cabin crews, announced a fresh ballot for a cabin crew strike (Daily Mail, 19 January 2010). The strike starting on 20 March is due to last for three days, with a second four-day walkout due to begin on 27 March. Unite have warned there could be further action after 14 April if a resolution with BA is not agreed (BBC News, 14 March 2010).

Unite behind industrial action at Welsh electronics firm

• Industrial action on 9 March. Workers from AB Connectors at Abercynon in South began industrial action in the week commencing 8 March 2010 in a dispute over pay. Unite say the dispute could spread to other parts of the group as members call for national action. 123 workers at the company, which is part of the TT group, have rejected the company’s decision to freeze their pay and will start a continuous overtime ban from Tuesday 9 March (Unite Press Release, 8 March 2010).

Unite behind Heathrow and Aberdeen baggage-handler strikes threats

• Walkouts were planned for three days over the Christmas holiday period, including Boxing Day. Unite threatened to hold a series of 48-hour strikes at Heathrow and Aberdeen airports in a row over pay. Members threatened to walk out on 22 December, Boxing Day and 3 January 2010. It would have affected passengers on Emirates, Turkish and Thai airlines at Heathrow (BBC News Online, 16 December 2009).

Unite’s longest ever youth worker industrial action

• 11 weeks of industrial action. Unite members were responsible for what they described as the ‘longest ever industrial action by youth workers in the UK’ this year as industrial action by 37 youth and community workers at Coventry city council entered its eleventh week with a strike on 5 February. The strike affected 22 youth work venues (Unite Press Release, Press release, 1 February 2010).

Unite thwarted again by the courts

• High Court rules against Unite strike. In February 2010, Milford Haven Port Authority was granted a High Court injunction to stop a strike involving about 50 pilots and launch crew. The Unite Union responded by issuing the employer with notice that the pilots would stage strikes on other days and would introduce an overtime ban and work-to-rule (Unite Press Release, Press release, 17 February 2010).

Unite behind series of transport strikes

• Strikes organised by Unite. Unite claims the bus and rail company, FirstGroup, has imposed a pay freeze on all 19 of its bus operations, despite having made a £200 million profit last year (The Sunday Times, 25 October 2009 and The Independent, 24 October 2009).

– More than 800 FirstGroup workers in Greater began a series of four 24-hour strikes beginning on 10 September last year over the pay freeze (BBC News, 10 September 2009).

– The union announced that all 833 of its members at Bury, Bolton and bus depots would take part in a further four days of strike action on Monday 5, 12, 19 and 26 October (Unite Press Release, Press Release, 2 October 2009).

– Bus drivers in Chelmsford, Colchester, Braintree, Clacton, , Basildon and Hadleigh started a series of 24- hour strikes on Monday 12 October (The Harlow Herald, 9 October 2009).

– Workers of the bus and rail company went on a national strike on Monday 26 October in protest against the proposed pay freeze. The action effected services on routes in Essex, Yorkshire, Wigan, Bolton and Bury (The Sunday Times, 25 October 2009).

page 11 APPENDIX A: MPS AND PPCS BANKROLLED BY UNITE

Total donations to Labour CLPs. Since Q3 2005, Unite has George Howarth (Knowsley) donated £460,561.81 to 148 Labour CLPs. Jimmy Hood (Lanark and Hamilton East) Hilary Benn (Leeds Central) MP seats bankrolled by Unite (90 CLPs): George Mudie (Leeds East) Mark Tami (Alyn and Deeside) Fabian Hamilton (Leeds North East) Sandra Osborne (Ayr Carrick and Cumnock) Michael Connarty (Linlithgow and Falkirk East) Margaret Hodge MBE (Barking) Tony Lloyd (Manchester Central) Eric Illsley (Barnsley Central) Dr Phyllis Starkey (Milton Keynes South) John Mann (Bassetlaw) Ed Balls (Morley and Outwood) Patrick Hall (Bedford) Dai Havard ( and Rhymney) Gisela Stuart (Birmingham Edgbaston) Paul Farrelly (Newcastle under Lyme) Richard Burden (Birmingham Northfield) Yvette Cooper (Normanton Pontefract and Castleford) Graham Stringer (Blackley and Broughton) Sally Keeble (Northampton North) David Crausby (Bolton North East) (Norwich South) Terry Rooney ( East) John Heppell ( East) Gerry Sutcliffe (Bradford South) Douglas Alexander (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) Madeleine Moon (Bridgend) Linda Gilroy (Plymouth Sutton and Devonport) Dawn Primarolo (Bristol South) (Rhondda) Nick Palmer (Broxtowe) Kevin Barron (Rother Valley) (Bury South) Phil Wilson (Sedgefield) (Caerphilly) Dan Norris (Somerset North East) Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley) Angela Smith (South Basildon and East Thurrock) Phil Hope (Corby) John Denham (Southampton Itchen) Bob Ainsworth (Coventry North East) Alan Whitehead (Southampton Test) Jim Cunningham (Coventry South) Dave Watts (St Helens North) (Dagenham and Rainham) Shaun Woodward (St Helens South and Whiston) (Denton and Reddish) Anne McGuire (Stirling) (Derby South) Robert Flello (Stoke on Trent South) Ed Miliband (Doncaster North) Siân C. James ( East) Jim Knight (Dorset South) Anne Snelgrove (Swindon South) Gwyn Prosser () David Wright (Telford) Ian Austin (Dudley North) (Wallasey) Andy Love (Edmonton) (Warley) Andrew Miller (Ellesmere Port and Neston) John Healey (Wentworth and Dearne) Clive Efford (Eltham) Tom Watson (West Bromwich East) (Garston and Halewood) Rob Marris (Wolverhampton South West) (Gedling) Tony Cunningham (Workington) Paul Clark (Gillingham and Rainham) (Wrexham) Ann McKechin ( North) Paul Goggins ( and Sale East) William Bain (Glasgow North East) Albert Owen (Ynys Mon) John Robertson (Glasgow North West) Ian Davidson (Glasgow South West) PPC seats bankrolled by Unite (58 CLPs): Parmjit Dhanda (Gloucester) Ronald Hughes (Aberconwy) Anthony Wright (Great Yarmouth) New candidate tba (Ashfield)** Linda Riordan (Halifax) Alan Strickland (Berwick upon Tweed) Bill Rammell (Harlow) Ian Saunders (Beverley and Holderness) Tony McNulty (Harrow East) Jack Dromey (Birmingham Erdington) Gareth Thomas (Harrow West) New candidate tba (Birmingham Selly Oak)** Jim Dobbin (Heywood and Middleton) New candidate tba (Blackpool North and Cleveleys)** Alan Johnson (Hull West and Hessle) Nancy Platts (Brighton Pavillion) David Cairns (Inverclyde) Julie Cooper (Burnley) (Islington South and Finsbury) Maryam Khan (Bury North) Dr Roger Berry (Kingswood) Stephenie Booth (Calder Valley) Gordon Brown (Kirkaldy and Cowdenbeath) Jude Robinson (Camborne and Redruth) page 12 Charlie Whelan’s New Militant Tendency Jenny Rathbone (Cardiff Central) Jayne Innes (Nuneaton) Ivan Henderson (Clacton) Anneliese Dodds (Reading East) Debbie Abrahams (Colne Valley) Naz Sarkar (Reading West) Gregg McClymont (Cumbernauld Kilsyth and Kirkintilloch Simon Danczuk (Rochdale) West) New candidate tba (Rutherglen and Hamilton West)** Chris Williamson (Derby North) Paul Blomfield (Sheffield Central) Michael Edwards (Derbyshire South) Valerie Shawcross AM CBE (Southwark North and New candidate tba (Dunbartonshire West)** Bermondsey) Pat Glass (Durham North West) New candidate tba (Stalybridge and Hyde)** Grahame Morris (Easington) (Streatham) Leo Barraghclough (Eastleigh) (Sunderland Central) Sheila Gilmore (Edinburgh East) Geraint Davies (Swansea West) New candidate tba (Edinburgh South)** Victor Agarwal (Swindon North) Ian Boulton (Filton and Bradley Stoke) Carl Morris (Thurrock) Alison Moore (Finchley and Golders Green) Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Gateshead) New candidate tba (Weaver Vale)** Daniel Marten (Haltemprice and Howden) Lisa Nandy (Wigan) Phillippa Roberts (Hereford and South Herefordshire) Andrew Judge (Wimbledon) Karen Jennings (Hornsey and Wood Green) (Houghton and Sunderland South) Mike Robb (Inverness Nairn Badenoch and Strathspey) **Denotes where a new candidate has not yet been Mark Chiverton (Isle of Wight) announced. Clive Grunshaw (Lancaster and Fleetwood) (Leeds West) Note: (Leicester West) In this document, Labour MP CLPs are defined as those Yvonne Fovargue (Makerfield) where the current Labour MP is standing for re-election New candidate tba (Middlesbrough South and Cleveland this year. East)** Andrew Pakes (Milton Keynes North) PPC CLPs are referred to as those where the current ( Central) Labour MP is not standing for re-election or where there John Cook (Norwich North) is no Labour incumbent.

page 13 APPENDIX B: LABOUR MPS AND PPCS WHO ARE UNITE MEMBERS

A total of 167 MPs and PPCs are members of Unite. This Paul Clark (Gillingham and Rainham) includes 108 MPs and 59 PPCs. John Robertson (Glasgow North West) Ian Davidson (Glasgow South West) MPs Tony Wright (Great Yarmouth) Mark Tami (Alyn and Deeside) Linda Riordon (Halifax) Eric Illsley (Barnsley Central) Bill Rammell (Harlow) John Mann (Bassetlaw) Tony McNulty (Harrow East) Gisela Stuart (Birmingham Edgbaston) Gareth Thomas (Harrow West) Sion Simon (Birmingham Erdington) Jim Dobbin (Heywood and Middleton) Stephen McCabe (Birmingham Hall Green) Fraser Kemp (Houghton and Sunderland South) (Birmingham Hodge Hill) Barry Sheerman (Huddersfield) Khalid Mahmood (Birmingham Perry Barr) (Hull East) Lynne Jones (Birmingham Selly Oak) Greg Pope (Hyndburn) David Crausby (Bolton North East) Roger Berry (Kingswood) (Bolton West) George Howarth (Knowsley) Terry Rooney (Bradford East (Bradford North) Jimmy Hood (Lanark and Hamilton East) Gerry Sutcliffe (Bradford South) Hilary Been (Leeds Central) (Brent North) George Mudie (Leeds East) Desmond Turner (Brighton Kemptown) Fabian Hamilton (Leeds North East) Nick Palmer (Broxtowe) John Battle (Leeds West) Kitty Ussher (Burnley) Patricia Hewitt (Leicester West) Ivan Lewis (Bury South) Jim Dowd (Lewisham West and Penge) Wayne David (Caerphilly) Peter Kilfoyle ( Walton) Christine McCafferty (Calder Valley) Robert Wareing (Liverpool West Derby) Jonathan Straw (Chatham and Aylesford) Tony Lloyd (Manchester Central) Lindsay Hoyle (Chorley) Alan Meale (Mansfield) Phil Hope (Corby) Dr Phyllis Starkey (Milton Keynes South) Bob Ainsworth (Coventry North East) Dai Havard (Merthyr Tydfil and Rhymney) James Cunningham (Coventry South) Paul Farrelly (Newcastle under Lyme) Rosemary McKenna (Cumbernauld, Kilsyth and Jim Cousins (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) Kirkintilloch West) Bill Olner (Nuneaton) Alan Milburn (Darlington) Jim Sheridan (Paisley and Renfrewshire North) Howard Stoate (Dartford) Douglas Alexander (Paisley and Renfrewshire South) Andrew Gwynne (Denton and Reddish) Alison Seabeck (Plymouth Sutton and Devonport) Natascha Engel (Derbyshire North East) Jim Fitzpatrick (Poplar and Limehouse Mark Todd (Derbyshire South) (Poplar and Canning Town)) Jim Knight (Dorset South) Sarah McCarthy-Fry (Portsmouth North) Gwyn Prosser (Dover) Chris Bryant (Rhondda) Ian Austin (Dudley North) Kevin Barron (Rother Valley) (Dulwich and West Norwood) Tommy McAvoy (Rutherglen and Hamilton West) Hilary Armstrong (Durham North West) (Sheffield Central) (East Ham) Dan Norris (Somerset North East Andy Love (Edmonton) (Wansdyke)) Andrew Miller (Ellesmere Port and Neston) Angela E Smith (South Basildon and East Colin Challen (Elmet and Rothwell (Morley Thurrock (Basildon)) and Rotherwell)) John Denham (Southampton Itchen) Clive Efford (Eltham) David Watts (St Helens North) Joan Ryan (Enfield North) Shaun Woodward (St Helens South and Whiston) John Austin (Erith and Thamesmead) David Kidney (Stafford) Rudi Vis (Finchley and Golders Green) James Purnell (Stalybridge and Hyde) Maria Eagle (Garston and Halewood Barbara Follett (Stevenage ) (Liverpool Garston)) Sian James (Swansea East) David Clelland (Gateshead (Tyne Bridge)) Ann Snelgrove (Swindon South) Vernon Coaker (Gedling) Andrew MacKinlay (Thurrock) page 14 Charlie Whelan’s New Militant Tendency (Tottenham) Bruce Alan Hogan (Forest of Dean ) John Smith (Vale of Glamorgan) Jamie McMahon (Gainsborough) John Spellar (Warley) (Glasgow East) Helen Southworth (Warrington South) Richard McKenzie (Henley) James Plaskitt (Warwick and Leamington) Andrew Skudder (Horsham) Tom Watson (West Bromwich East) Mike Robb (Inverness Nairn Badenoch Neil Turner (Wigan) and Strathspey) Ben Chapman (Wirral South) Stephanie Jane Thomas (Keighley) Tony Cunningham (Workington) Clive Grunshaw (Lancaster and Fleetwood) Ian Lucas (Wrexham) Rachel Reeves (Leeds West) Sally Gimson (Leicestershire South ) PPCs Heidi Alexander (Lewisham East) Tom Ross (Altrincham and Sale West) John Cryer (Leyton and Wanstead) Kevin Hutchens (Angus) Rav Seeruthun (Maidstone and the Weald) Kathryn White (Aylesbury) Yvonne Fovargue (Makerfield) Les Sibley (Banbury ) Andrew Pakes (Milton Keynes North) Allan Davies (Basildon and Billericay ) Richard Stevens (Oxford West and Abingdon) Edward Brown (Bedfordshire North East ) Jamie Hanley (Pudsey) Ian Saunders (Beverley and Holderness) Stuart King (Putney) Jack Dromey (Birmingham Erdington) Anneliese Dodds (Reading East) Nick Smith (Blaenau Gwent ) Kevin Bonavia (Rochford and Southend East) Nancy Platts (Brighton, Pavilion) Gareth Siddorn (Sevenoaks) Sam Townend (Bristol North West) Paul Blomfield (Sheffield Central) Paul Smith (Bristol West) Sarah-Jayne Merrill (Solihull) Ruth Smeeth (Burton) Gareth Gould (South Holland and the Deepings) Stephenie Booth (Calder Valley ) Kevin McElduff (Staffordshire South ) Peter Roberts (Cambridgeshire North East ) Chuka Umunna (Streatham) Tariq Sadiq (Cambridgeshire South ) Jonathan Roberts (Thirsk and Malton) Jenny Rathbone (Cardiff Central) Carl Morris (Thurrock) Julian Ware-Lane (Castle Point) Stella Creasy (Walthamstow) (Chesterfield) Mike Hobday (Welwyn Hatfield) Simon Holland (Chichester) David Bradley (Weston-Super-Mare ) Catharine Isabel Arakelian (Chingford and Woodford Green) Lisa Nandy (Wigan) Ivan Henderson (Clacton) Nigel Knowles (Wyre Forest) Mark Dempsey (The Cotswolds) Luke Pollard (Devon South West ) Total MPs: 108 Darren Jones (Devon West and Torridge) Total PPCs: 59 Bassam Mahfouz (Ealing Central and Acton) Total: 167

page 15 VOTE

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